On Anniversary of Shocking NYC Murder, Recognition For Good Samaritans Elsewhere
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Today, March 13th, is "Good Samaritan Day," recognizing strangers who get involved to help. And it come on the anniversary of a notorious incident when people did nothing.
On March 13th, 1964, Kitty Genovese was murdered a short distance from her Queens, NY home, and none of the dozens of people living nearby called police until it was too late.
But today, technology is providing a way to make a difference. OnStar, the company that makes in-vehicle emergency communications systems, says thousands of its subscribers do the right thing every year by using their OnStar system to help another person.
Philadelphia had about 1,500 "Good Samaritan" calls in 2011, according to OnStar VP Joanne Finnorn, who says this aid is just part of the program.
"We recognized early in our history that, in addition to helping our subscribers in an emergency, we had this unique ability to leverage our service to allow our suscribers to help others in need," she tells KYW Newsradio. "So we encourage them to do that."
Finnorn says pushing the OnStar button may be even better than calling 911, because OnStar gets your precise location by GPS in an instant.
